Mastodon molar featured during Iowa Rocks event at Upper Iowa University

The massive mastodon molar found in Sumner this summer will be part of the Iowa Rocks activities during National Fossil Day/Earth Science Week at Upper Iowa University on October 16.

FAYETTE, Iowa (September 19, 2013) – The mastodon molar and the team of young fossil hunters who found it in a Sumner creek recently will be the guests of honor during the fourth annual "Iowa Rocks" event at Upper Iowa University from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16, in Baker-Hebron Auditorium, Room 101.

Dr. Kata McCarville, associate professor of geosciences in the UIU School of Science and Mathematics, said this year's event will focus on "Famous Iowa Fossils" and the extinction of megafauna from the Pleistocene era.

"This summer's discovery of the mastodon tooth in Sumner is evidence that this area was once home to some of these enormous beasts during the Ice Age. Mastodons, mammoths, camels, giant bears, American lions and cheetahs were among the giants that might have been found here tens of thousands of years ago," McCarville said.

McCarville and Dr. Gale A. Bishop, professor emeritus from Georgia Southern University will host the UIU event to celebrate National Fossil Day™ and Earth Science Week. Participants will have the opportunity to view the Iowa Department of Natural Resources map of Iowa geology and receive help identifying any of their personal rock and fossil discoveries.

About Upper Iowa University Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to some 6,200 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and self-paced degree program. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.